Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial Day

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae (1872-1918)

Friday, May 27, 2011

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

There can be no joy without gratitude.
from Miles to Go
Richard Paul Evans

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Happy Anniversary

Stan and I were married 23 years ago today. It was a wonderful day. I was nervous, excited, happy, scared, and anxious all at once. The thing that helped me as I walked down the aisle was my sweet father. He was crying so hard I had to be strong for him so he'd be able to make it down to leave me with Stan and he could go be with my mother. I'm not sure exactly why he was crying. Probably glad to finally get me off his hands!

Here are some pictures of then, and now .....

 May 21, 1988

 Spring 2010

 With Our Family
May 21, 1988

 Christmas 2010

 March 2009

 March 2006

October 2007

We've gone through a lot of changes over the years. Three homes, two cities, and two boys taking us from just the two of us to a family of four. It's been an adventure! Looking forward to the next twenty-three years!

Friday, May 20, 2011

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

"Faith in something greater than ourselves enables us to do what we have said we'll do, to press forward when we are tired or hurt or afraid, to keep going when the challenge seems overwhelming and the course is entirely uncertain." Gordon B. Hinckley, 1910-2008

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Tradition!

Today we had our traditional end-of-the-school-year celebration. Every year when school finally is over we celebrate with strawberry shortcake.  Stan prepped the berries and AJ put them together.  He and Stan love, love, love whipped cream, as you can see.

It's a fun, and a tasty, annual treat to mark the end of a year of accomplishments. Even though AJ and Kevin are in college now I see no reason to change our ways...... do you?


Sunday, May 15, 2011

Arrow

Today has been a hard day. For all of us, but especially for Kevin. Last night we took his pet budgie to the emergency vet. He's been sick for about ten days and his right leg had gone lame. We thought he had a bad cold and got him some medicine. But last night around 6pm Kevin noticed a lump on him and that, even though he's been eating a lot, he was very thin.


The vet told us that Arrow had cancer. The tumor was so big it was pressing on his nerves paralyzing his leg. Even if we went to extreme measures to help him, he probably wouldn't survive long. They were very compassionate with Kevin, and after he made the difficult decision, they let him have some time with his friend and say goodbye. They also made a clay disk of Arrow's footprints and beak print with his name on it.



It's hard to believe how a little bird could work his way into our hearts like Arrow did. Because of him we got other birds.  We lost Eddie last year, and got Stella this year. Arrow, Sparky and Stella have been a great little trio, but clearly Arrow was always the "alpha."

He was so attached to Kevin that he had little to do with the rest of us. He always knew when it was time for Kevin to come home from school and would start to get excited when that time came. When he would hear his footsteps on the porch he always knew if it was Kevin and would start to chirp and sing when it was him. He yelled at us when we did things he didn't like, would yell when I blew my nose cause he didn't like the sound, would let Kevin hold him on his back in his hand and would climb all over him when he was let out of the cage. When he went a couple of days without enough "Kevin Time" he would get grumpy and Stan would tell him to get Arrow out of the cage and give him some play time with his favorite human. Very sweet.

These are a couple of my favorite pictures of Arrow. We put AJ's Godzilla figure on the floor to see what Arrow would do. He marched right up to it and yelled at it.



Then he seemed to turn around and walk away with a "I don't have time for this nonsense" attitude. He was a big-hearted little guy with a giant personality. I know Kevin is going to miss him, but I miss him too. He was a real character. I am impressed with how these little creatures fight so hard to stay with their owners. He must have been miserable for a long time, but you would never have known.

I believe animals have spirits and know things. One of our favorite stories about Arrow was right after we got him it was General Conference. When the Mormon Tabernacle Choir started to sing, he sang along. He loved that choir and would often sing along when he would hear them. When President Hinckley started to speak, he pressed against the cage to see him. He heard the prophet's voice and wanted to see who it was.

It's sad to lose a friend. Four legged, feathered, furry and of course human. It's always painful, but it's nice to know we'll see them again.

Sparky and Arrow

Saturday, May 14, 2011

A New Short Story

I've published a new short story! The Book Club is only available at Smashwords.com and is FREE! 


A group of women meet every month to discuss a book, until one summer evening when the monotony of it all inspires them to try something new ... with some interesting results. 

Click here to go download it http://bit.ly/ifnpFy and get it for your e-readers, PCs or laptops. You can download the Kindle software for your PCs and laptops free of charge at Amazon.com, or you can download it as a text file or PDF if you wish to read it that way.

I hope you will take the time to read it and post a review on Smashwords if you like.

Friday, May 13, 2011

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND



Enjoy life!

This is not a dress rehearsal.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Happy Birthday Fred!

Today is Fred Astaire's birthday! He was born May 10, 1899 and died on June 22, 1987. I have loved him since I was a teenager. He had such style, and such a joyful way of dancing that when I was studying dance he was my inspiration.

I have put on some songs of him singing that I love. He had such a funny, sweet voice. Stan gave me an album of his a few years ago that I love to play, and wanted to share with you here.

This first picture is one that when I was in high school my sister and friend Paul had blown up into a huge poster for my bedroom. It's always been one of my favorites. If you get a chance to watch some of Fred's movies, please take the opportunity. You will have a good time.

So happy birthday Fred! I'm glad you were in the world and a part of my life. I think the world is a little sadder without you in it.



Friday, May 6, 2011

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance.

Oprah Winfrey

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Hello and Goodbye

An emotional morning today.

First, I finally got to meet a friend. I've known Charlene for about four years or so, but we've never met face-to-face. She's been one of my beta readers on my novels, and we "play" and chat together on Facebook. A co-worker of my husband Stan, we've been unable to connect so far, but today we did!

We met at Gunther Toody's for breakfast, and it felt like getting together with an old friend. She is so cute and fun and easy to talk to, I know we'll be friends for a long time.



After breakfast we went to my friend Tara's. Today is a very sad day for me. Tara and her family are leaving today. They are moving to Utah. I'm happy for her; they'll be near family and friends again that I know she's missed and who have missed having her near. But I'm sad for me. Tara has been more than a friend to me. She's been a sister, and it will feel very lonely without her.
Safe journey, my sweet friend! You'll be missed......

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Stan's Clouds

My husband, Stanley, has a love of clouds. He's always looking at them and seeing things in them. And when the mood strikes, he either sends the boys out to photograph them or takes them himself. Today we were out taking photographs for my author sites, and he spotted some that he loves. And for fun I took a few of him as well. Here's a sample of our work!

I got a royalty payment today from my books sales, and I took Stan out to lunch. Let's just say, I'm no John Grisham! We dined at Taco Bell! Actually, it was fun.

Stan thought this cloud looked like a row of people riding a roller coaster.
If you look closely, you can see them too! 

 They sky was so blue today, and the clouds so very white.
Sometimes it's just fun to look up!

 Very pretty, aren't they?

Some leftover snow from earlier in the week.
It's supposed to be in the 80s this weekend for Mother's Day.


See? Stan's a happy camper.
The clouds were out and making him happy today!